When you say "doesn't work", do you mean it doesn't return values or it returns an error message?Using "*" & ... doesn't seem to work - either with a formatted field or with an unformatted one. I'll try other ideas.
Note, "Formatting" is just a pretty way to present data to users, it is NOT what is really contained in those fields.
You pretty much want to write all your conditions to work off what is in those fields, and ignore how it is formatted.
I think I got things now - thanks for your help!